So this week has got some great releases. Being a longtime fan of R.E.M. for instance and since they announced their imminent breakup, it was nice to see the guys release songs from their Green World Tour from 1989. "Losing My Religion" is still one of my all time favourite 90's tunes. Then we have a few albums that have been highly praised by music enthusiasts such as Escape The Fate and Pop Evil. Both notable bands in the respective genres and I look forward to giving them a spin this week.
To celebrate the landmark album s 25-year anniversary, Rhino presents a two-disc deluxe edition that features the remastered original album accompanied by a disc of live performances taken from the penultimate show of R.E.M. s 130-date Green World Tour. All 21 songs were recorded in Greensboro, North Carolina on November 10, 1989, just miles from where Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry had their very first recording session at Mitch Easter s Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem.
The concert captures a fiery set from R.E.M., which had been forged in the crucible of nearly one year of shows. R.E.M. performed most of Green ("Get Up, " "World Leader Pretend" and "You Are The Everything"), while mixing in early favorites like "Fall On Me, " "Finest Worksong, " "The One I Love" and "Perfect Circle" from the band s 1983 debut Murmur. The show also finds the band testing out new songs ("Low" and "Belong") that would appear two years later on Green s follow-up, Out Of Time.
The anniversary set is packaged in a hard clamshell box (similar to previous R.E.M. reissues) and comes with four postcards and a foldout poster, plus insightful liner notes by Uncut editor, Allan Jones. Green: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be available as a 2-disc set and digitally. The remastered album with original art and packaging will also be available on 180-gram vinyl. -Amazon
(Pop Evil - Onyx)
The idea of overcoming your demons and that which holds you back from being who you want to be or doing what you desire may sound like an overly-present theme on the album, but it never feels so familiar that it becomes tired. Instead, each track on Onyx feels like an anthem in its own right, targeting those with various doubts about themselves and the world around them. Pop Evil harness tap into the fear of the unknown that lies within each of us in our own unique ways and offer up twelve tracks to motivate and inspire individuals to take their lives into their own hands. Onyx is one of the most cohesive, memorable, and downright fun listening experiences of the year. It’s the best album Pop Evil have ever written, and it’s littered with moments that indicate there are years of great music still come. I cannot think of a single reason anyone who considers themselves a fan of rock and roll should not buy Onyx. As of May 14, it will officially be an album to beat in 2013, and it could not have come from a more deserving and hard working band. -Under The Gun Review
(Escape The Fate - Ungrateful)
'Ungrateful' sits in the middle of the road. It isn't bad - in fact, it possesses much of the groove and swing to the riffs that have made Escape The Fate enjoyable to listen to over the years; but it's not great, and that's the problem. Experimentation is risky at times, yes, especially if you go in all guns blazing, but this feels like a band trying to tailor themselves to a certain market and have watered much of themselves down in the process to be safe. There are some great tunes on there to redeem much of the album, and the lasting original members at least keep the band in touch with their musical roots, but it feels like there's too much potential here, and not enough action. -Stereoboard
My girlfriend and I recently did photo and review coverage for Mindless Self Indulgence when they visited Toronto at the Phoenix Nightclub. Jimmy Urine was in fine form as usual and played a slew of tunes for both the old and new fans of the band. The album was done by a Kickstarter project and funded by fans, so it's safe to say they still have quite the fan base as well. So all synth pop fans take notice!
(Mindless Self Indulgence - How I Learned To Stop Giving A Shit)
If their 2008 album If was the same old black nail polish brought home from the mall, this 2013 blast of bile returns Jimmy Urine and his Mindless Self Indulgence crew to the status of super awesome scumbags, which means it is quite good. Eccentric as they wanna be and hopped on something faster than speed itself, the industrial-metal gang opens by twisting the Lord's love into a sacrilegious endorsement during the hopped-up heresy dubbed "Witness," while the jittery "I Wanna Be Black" is a step sideways for race relations with Morgan Freeman getting as much credit from MSI as MLK and Malcolm X. "Kill You All in a Hip Hop Rage" is dressed in spandex with tufts of pink hair, and yet it threatens the current crop of rappers by demanding a return to true hip-hop, while "Anonymous" offers "We will find you and hurt you/If you are famous, you deserve what you get" with a thrashing drum machine and pounding guitar combo as support for this argument. Deductive reasoning flies out the window on any given MSI album, and it grabs the legs of political correctness and drags it along as it plummet towards the bottom, plus bottoms get pummeled, too, since "Fuck Machine" becomes "A celebration, with a little in vitro fertilization," although "This shit is so bad, it could win a Grammy" is the song, and maybe the album's, greatest moment. The great "Casio," the ridiculous cover of Supertramp's "The Logical Song," and "Hey Tomorrow Fuck You and Your Friend Yesterday" are all glorious implosions with nerd porn, sick memes, and skittish synthesizers giving the cretins what they want, and besides, they already paid for it too, as the scabby and cute throwaway "You're No Fun Anymore Mark Trezona" is an example of how this album was crowd-funded. Here's to Mark Trezona, wherever he is, and all the other names that get an "F You" in the liner notes, because their money helped release this kraken, which is the loudest, angriest, and most creative kraken since their 2005 album You'll Rebel to Anything. Think Ministry on helium and without the "do good" attitude, then sign up for duty, but only if your karma can take a significant hit. -All Music
Haven't dove much into Polkadot Cadaver yet, but how could you turn away from an album called "Last Call For Jonestown"? OK, that may not be the best reason to go and grab this album, but another notable band in the up and coming world that shouldn't go unnoticed. I listened to some of the members when they played in (now defunct) Dog Fashion Disco. Stumbling upon them on Galaxy music, we've all had those bands we accidentally discovered. Anyways, not running too far off course. The band is worth checking out.
(Polkadot Cadaver - Last Call In Jonestown)
I won't lie – this album will slap you around like a cat toy for most of its runtime. But you know what? It's worth it. A musical dynamic that alternately shocks and soothes is hard to pull off without creating serious ear and brain fatigue, but this band's musicianship helps balance the scales, and their sense of mischief and macabre humor seals the deal for me. Find out for yourself when Last Call in Jonestown drops next Tuesday via Polkadot's own label, Razor to Wrist Records. If you dig it, the band is getting ready to kick off a US headline tour, with support from One Eyed Doll and Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. -Fearnet
And of course we have a highly anticipated album from the notorious Dillinger Escape Plan, who have recently moved record labels and marketed the move and new album flawlessly. "One of Us Is The Killer" has to be one of the most diverse albums to date for the band. Five albums in and they are still experimenting with various grooves, aggression and melody all packed into 40:01 mins. A win in my books.
(Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is The Killer)
The fifth full-length from mathcore giants the Dillinger Escape Plan, One of Us is the Killer is an example of experimental aggressive music under pressure, torqued and compressed until it bubbles over, explodes, bursts into flame. As vicious as they are indefatigable, the Dillinger Escape Plan are known for apocalyptic, acrobatic live performances that often involve vocalist Greg Puciato climbing amps or scaffolding, breathing fire and diving into the arms of the seething, screaming audience. They are able to bottle a great deal of that energy on One of Us is the Killer, an explosive and unpredictable record that often fractures and falls apart, suddenly spraying shrapnel. The Dillinger Escape Plan have made a name for themselves writing music that sounds like part mad science, part chemical warfare, and One of Us is the Killer fits this mould as well, being so uneven and varied as to evoke the carnivalesque. However, it contains more successful experiments than usual, and a few moments of genuine splendour. First single "Prancer" takes itself apart in the middle, breaking down to a fractured mess, and then is expertly reconstructed in a stunning act of musical vivisection. "The Magic That Held You Prisoner" contains a moment of arresting emotional impact, where Puciato shows off his clean singing just as the pace slows and the manic instrumentation becomes sparer. While One of Us is the Killer is replete with the eye-popping guitar work and shattered structures DEP are renowned for, it's these few moments where their commitment to wild alchemy turns up genuine gold that set it apart. -Exclaim
So as the old saying goes, musicians can't make it without fans. So for all you fans, make sure to pick a copy of your favourite album this week. Give it a spin, log onto your social media and let the guys (or gals) know how you feel about the album. Head to your local record shop, online retailer or other legal source to purchase the album(s). Cheers!
Singles:
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While Depeche Mode's original was a harrowing cut that moved along in a lurching blues vein, the two electronic music whizzes transform its syncopated beat into a commanding four-on-the-floor, building a stadium-sized rager from the track's guttural guitars, sparkling synths and frontman Dave Gahan's repeated proclamation, "There's only one way to soothe my soul." -Rolling Stone
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